Households pay the price as food inflation up 17.5%

New Delhi: Here’s why your monthly budget has been going haywire all these months even while the government’s overall inflation figures remained at record lows of 0 to 1.5%. In a revealing disclosure, the government on Thursday announced that the average wholesale price of food items had increased by a whopping 17.5% in the past one year.
    Onions became dearer by over 12% on a weekly basis and 30.89% on a yearly basis. Pulses rose over 37%, while rice wheat, fruits and milk became costlier by over 10% on a yearly basis.
    Ground reports from the markets reveal that the poor monsoon followed by unseasonal rain in Maharashtra is only partially to blame for the steep prices. The cost burden in many cases is being added by retailers.
    Experts say the runaway food prices may now start to impact economic growth as rising inflation may force the RBI to shift to a tighter money policy.